1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the current invention relate to devices and systems configured to reduce traumatic brain injury.
2. Description of the Related Art
Closed-head traumatic brain injury (TBI) is typically a result of the brain impacting the interior of the skull. Forces acting on the body or the head generally accelerate the brain. High positive acceleration or negative acceleration may cause the brain to contact the skull with enough force to cause damage. The types of damage may be categorized as concussive TBI, blast TBI, or mild TBI. Concussive TBI may be suffered by athletes in sports such as hockey, boxing, or American football. Blast TBI may be experienced by military or law enforcement personnel while on patrol or traveling in a vehicle. Mild TBI may be experienced by anyone suffering a fall, a minor vehicular accident, or the like. Furthermore, the direction and location of the impact and the resulting motion of the head may determine the severity of the injury. Studies have shown that a side impact to the head, or the body, that results in the head rotating (about the roll axis) to the left or right shoulder may lead to a greater chance of suffering a TBI, as compared with impacts from other directions.
Helmets are available to athletes, military personnel, law enforcement personnel, and the like. While helmets generally provide protection for skull fractures upon direct impact, they do not provide protection from rotational forces to the head and may not reduce the occurrence or severity of a concussive TBI (cTBI). Even when wearing a helmet, the head, and the brain within, may experience an acceleration of a great enough magnitude to cause a cTBI.
Implementing a rigid linkage between the helmet and the body of the helmeted person has been proposed in prior art as a means to reduce concussive traumatic injuries [e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,941,873 to Nagely et al. or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0204628 to Ghajar]. In concussions, however, impact energy can act on the head within 20-50 milliseconds of impact [Rowson S, Brolinson G, Goforth M, Dietter D, Duma S (2009) Linear and angular head acceleration measurements in collegiate football, J Biomech Eng 131: 061016, doi: 10.1115/1.3130454].